Method of packaging paper



June 7, 1938. F. s. MCDONNELL 2,119,956

METHOD OF PACKAGING PAPER Filed Feb. 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 7, 1938. 's, CD WELL 2,119,956

METHOD OF PACKAGING PAPER Filed Feb. 3, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZZZ/972767 Patented June 7, 1938 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

It has been common practice heretofore to.

package sheets of paper on wood skids, the paper being stacked in fiat condition on the fiat top of the skid in a pile five or' more feet in height. Such sheets of paper commonly run as large as 44 x 66" and occasionally even larger. Over the top of the pile has been arranged a cover or platform, the whole then being bound together as by wires passed around the assembly and with 10 their ends secured together. The paper as thus stacked, or before being bound together, is sometimes wrapped with a waterproof wrapper. Such a package may weigh two tons or more. Whether or not a wrapper is employed, there are 1 certain very serious disadvantages to this method of packaging. After being thus packaged for some time, particularly when the weather has been moist for a portion of the time, a, considerable amount of buckling and fluting or crinkling at the end edges and dishing of the sheets is liable to occur, the amount of this buckling, fluting, crinkling, and dishing progressively increasing toward the top of the stack. This distortion of the sheets makes their handling at the printing press particularly difiicult and when successive printings are required, as in the case of color'printing, this distortion of the sheets may so prevent proper registry of the paper for successive printing operations in the press that it cannot be used. This often results in return of the paper to the manufacturer.

In accordance with the present invention, however, the advantages of skid packaging are maintained, but at the same time the sheets are so packaged and protected that buckling or dishing or other distortion of the sheets, is substantially prevented. This may be done by individually a wrapping preferably in a waterproof wrapper a fractional part or quantity of the paper in situ 40 on the skid, first laying the wrapper on the skid, placing thereon the desired amount of paper, and

' then bringing the wrapper up andabout the paper, preferably in such a manner that the package can be readily opened at the top, andthen similarly wrapping another fractional-part or quantity in situ ontop of the part already wrapped, and continuing with successive wrapping of fractional parts or quantities until the desired quantity of paper is wrapped. The uppermost wrapped fractional part or quantity may be closed off securely on its top face, whereupon the whole stack may be bound together and to the skid to form the skid package. vidually wrapped fractional quantities below the top one are left for ready opening, since they are The indi-' adequately protected from the weather and are held closed by the superposed packages, and as it is common practice to feed the paper to the press directly from the skid package, it is desirable that the top sheet of each of the lower 5 fractional quantities should be made accessible to the press feeding mechanism with the minimum-of effort in order that there may be no interruption in the feed of the entire contents of the package to the press. ping of the fractional amounts of the paper is effective in protecting the paper from the effects of moisture and the effects of changes of humidity in the air, and the individual wrapping breaks up the continuity of any incipient buckling or 15 dishing so that these faults are not permittedto become accentuated from the bottom 'to the top of the entire package as in the skid package asheretofore constructed.

The method of this invention has decided advantages over wrapping the paper in packages before placing on the skid, Separate wrapping and then placing on the skid is more costly, both in labor and wrapping material, no matter what the size of the packages may be, and. requires a com- 25 plete enclosing with the wrappers and the fastening of the wrappers as with sealing tape, if the packages are to be handled at all conveniently. It is especially unsuitable in the case of large packages because of the difliculty of handling the packages onto the skid and because of the tendency of such packages to break open. unless, wrapped in a stronger and more expensive manner than is necessary in the case of the new method herein described. By this latter method large packages may be built up upon the skid by lifting on the paper in such quantity or quantitles as is most convenient and thereafter each package can be wrapped with the minimum of wrapper necessary to protect it after it is in place without the necessity of fastening up the wrappers on the top of any package except perhaps the uppermost.

For a more complete understanding of this inventicn, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1, 2 and 3 are sectional isometric views showing successive stages of packaging paper in accordance with this invention.

Figure 4 is an isometric view of the completed skid package.

Figure 5 is an end elevation showing the effects of-end edge crinkling 'and buckling in a portion of a stackof' paper made according to usual prior practice of skid packaging.

The individual wrap- 10 j Figure 6 is a fragmentary perspective showing the dishing of the paper in the top portion of Figure 7 is a view somewhatsimilar to Figure 1, but showing the first stage in a modified method of wrapping in accordance with this invention.

Figures 8 to 11, inclusive, are perspective views 7 illustrating successive stages in the same method. Figure 12 is a perspective view of the package as made by the modified method, parts being broken away. I

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 9,202, filed March 4, 1935, for Paper package.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 5 illustrates the end of a stack of paper such as has been piled and packaged on a skid in accordance with prior practice and has stood in packaged condition for some time subjected to humidity changes in the surrounding atmosphere. It will be noted from this figure that the lower sheets of paper along the edges, and more particularly at the ends across the grain of the paper are somewhat crinkled and fluted, and that the amount of this distortion progressively increases from the bottom of the stack to the top where the fiuting, crinkling and buckling is very pronounced. This drawing has been made from a photograph of an actual stack of paper standing in a manufacturers warehouse.

Besides this eifect of crinkling and buckling of the end edges of the .paper another defect of paper packaged in this manner is illustratedin Figure 6, this also having been drawn from a photograph of the top portion of a stack of paper which has been packaged on a skid. It will be noted that the top of this stack of paper is downwardly dished in its center to a very marked degree, the amount of dishing increasing progressively from the lower portions of the stack to the top. Very commonly both of these faults of buckling or fluting and dishing have occurred in the same stack of paper as previously packaged on askid.

In accordance with the present invention, however, the packaging may be accomplished as shown in Figures 1 to 4. Referring to these figures, at I0 is indicated the usual skid on which the paper is to be packaged. On the top face of this skid is placed a wrapping sheet H as shown in Figure 1. This wrapping sheet may be made of waterproof paper such, for example, as the well known two-ply paper with an interposed protecting medium of asphalt or the like. On this wrapper II is placed a fractional quantity of thepaper to be packaged as shown at l2. This may, for example, be substantially one foot high. This quantity of paper is then wrapped with the wrapper II as shown in Figure 2, the wrapper ll being brought up about the sides and ends of the paper l2 and its margins brought in over the top, as shown at I3 and i4. Next another sheet of wrapping as l5is placed over the quantity l2 of paper previously wrapped and a second quantity iii of paper is placed thereon in superposed relation to the quantity l2. The wrapper i5 is then brought up about the sides and ends of the. quantity of paper IS in the same manner that the wrapper l,l was brought about the sides and ends of the quantity-of paper I! and the margins of the wrapping sheet l5 are inturned over the top of the paper It in the samemanner. Where the quantities of paper may be thoroughly enclosed and protected in I this manner no additional scaling is required but if the wrapping sheets areinsufilciently large to. provide proper coverage, sealing strips may be applied where desirable in order to'insure thorough protection. This-successive packaging of fractional quantities of the paper with a waterproof wrapping is continued until the desired quantity of paper has been placed and wrapped on the skid, the wrapping in each case being performed in situ either on the skid or on-the previously wrapped portions of the paper.

When the stack has been built to the desired height, a suitable cover, such as shown at 20 in Figure 4, is placed over the top of the last wrapped package and the whole is then bound together, as by wires 2|, each of which is passed across beneath the top of the skid as through holes 22 in its side rails 23, brought up along opposite sides of the stack of wrapped paper and then over a board Men the top or cover 20 where the ends of the wire are suitably secured together as by twisting as at 25. If desired, a separate waterproofing covering sheet may be placed over the top of the topmost quantity of paper provided the cover top 20 is not sufliciently tight to give the desired protection to the top sheets of paper and, of course, if desired, the top sheet of each individual package may be similarly protected. Ordinarily there is no necessity of bringing the margins of the wrapping papertogether over each quantity of paper wrapped or of the securing of them in wrapped .condition, the

weight of the superposed wrapper and quantities of paper being amply sufficient to hold the wrapper margins in proper position, and the wrapper on the bottom of the package next above will constitute a top sheet for the protection 0 the package beneath.

In Figures 7 to 12 a somewhat modified method of packaging in accordance with this invention is illustrated, this method making possible the use of somewhat narrower wrapping sheet material and having other advantages over the method shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, as will later appear.

In accordance with the method illustrated in these figures, a wrapper sheet 3i which may be narrower than the wrapper sheet ll shown, for

example, in Figure 1, but is longer, is laid in position on the skidas shown in'Figure '7, and a fractional quantity of the paper to be packaged is assembled thereon, as shown at 32, and preferably at one side of the center of the wrapper.

in over the ends of the paper and then the bottom and top portions 39 and 38 are folded in successively, as shown in Figure 10.

The edge portions of the wrapper sheet at the ends of the paper quantity thus wrapped'may then be sealed as by the use of gum tape as at 49, as shown in Figure 11.

,Onthe package so made up, a second wrapper sheet such as 3! of Figure -7 may be superposed and a second fractional quantity of the paper laid thereon in superposed relation to the first,

and the'wrapper wrapped therearound as previously described, thus to produce a second wrapped package as III in Figure 12 in stacked re,- lation to the first wrapped package El. Successive fractional quantities of the paper to be wrapped are then wrapped in situ in the same manner as previously described until all of the paper desired for a single skid package has been wrapped. It is preferable that the top package be sealed off securely along substantially the entire length of the overlapped edges of the wrapper sheet as by the gum strip 52 shown in Figure 12, since this top package does not have the protectionafforded by superposed packages, as is the case with the packages to and Bi. The stack of individually packaged fractional quantities of the paper is then bound to the skid as by the method described in connection with Figures 1 to 4.

The light securement ofthe overlapped edges of the wrapper sheets in the packages below the top package on each skid makes possible the ready opening-of each of these packages as it is reached during the feed of the sheets to the press from the entire skid package, so that after the bottom sheet of one individual package has been fed, the operator may release and fold back the wrapper for the succeeding fractional-quantity so that the feed of sheets may proceed uninterruptedly when changing from package to package until the entire quantity in the skid package has been fed.

Besides making possible the use of a somewhat narrower wrapping sheet than in the method shown in Figures 1 to 4, this modified method avoids the formation of thicker marginal portions of the stacked sheets due to the presence of the in-turned margins t3 and I4 illustrated in Figure 2, but it requires additional sealing, as by the use of gummed paper strips, on the outside of the package as will be evident from a comparison of Figures 4 and 12.

By these methods of wrapping the quantities of paper in the several individually wrapped bundles, the paper is much better protected from the effects of moisture than where it is attempted to apply a single protective wrapper about the whole stack of paper. Moreover, the interposition of the wrapping sheets between the successively placed quantities of paper destroys any continuity of buckling, iiuting or dishing heightwise of the stack so that if any slight buckling, fluting or dishing is produced in any one package, it does not continue into the paper in the package above. The quantity of paper in each successive bundle is insuflicient for any such progressive increase in buckling, fluting or dishing within itself to be troublesome in later handling of the paper in the K printing press.

Furthermore, by the avoidance of fastening of the inturned edges of each wrapper other than the weight of the superposed material, as shown in Figures 1 to 4, or the incomplete fasteningin the method shown in Figures 7 to 12, inclusive, no substantial inconvenience or delay is occasioned in removing the paper for printing pur-.

art that-various changes and modifications might be made without departing from its spirit or scope as defined by the appended claims.

Iclaim: 1. The method of'packaging paper on a skid which comprises successively placing and wrapping in situ fractional portions of the complete stack of paper one above another until the stack is completed, and then binding said wrapped portions together and to said skid.

2. The method of packaging paper on a skid, which comprises placing a wrapper sheet on said skid, placing a fractional portion of the complete stack of paper on saidwrapper sheet, folding said wrapper sheet around the sides and ends of .the fractional portion and over at least a portion of the top thereof, said wrapper sheet being accessible at the top of said portion for ready unwrapping, and successively applying other wrapper sheets on the top faces of the previously wrapped fractional portions and wrapping other fractional portions of the completed stack of paper in the same manner until the complete quantity of paper to be wrapped is enclosed, sealing the topmost fractional portion in wrapped condition, and then binding the wrapped quantities together and to said skid.

3. The method of packaging paper on a skid which comprises placing a wrapping sheet 'on said skid, superposing a quantity of paper to be packaged on said wrapping sheet, wrapping the sides and ends of said paper with said wrapping sheet and turning the margins of said wrapping sheet inwardly over said paper, placing a second wrapping sheet over said paper and on said in-turned margins, placing a second quantity of paper on said second wrapping sheet in superposed relation to said first-mentioned quantity, wrapping said second quantity with said second wrapping sheet similar to the wrapping of said. first-mentioned quantity, continuing the placing of said wrapping sheets, and quantities of paper until the desired amount of paper has been placed on said skid and wrapped, and then binding said wrapped quantities together and to said skid.

4. The method of packaging paper on a skid which comprises placing a wrapping sheet on said skid, superposing a quantity of paper to be packaged on. said wrapping sheet, wrapping the sides and ends of said paper with said wrapping sheet and turning the margins of said wrapping sheet inwardly over said paperfplacing a second wrapping sheet over said paper and on said inturned margins, placing a second quantity of paper on said second wrapping sheet in superposed relation to said first-mentioned quantity,'wrap-' ping said second quantity with said second wrap- I ping sheet similar to the wrapping of said firstmentioned quantity, continuing the placing of said wrapping sheets, and quantities of paper until the desired amount of paper has been placed on said skid and wrapped, placing a cover over the top quantity of paper, and then binding said cover and skid with the interposed wrapper sheets and paper together. 7

5. The method of packaging paper on a skid, which comprises placing a wrapping sheet on said skid, superposing a fractional quantity of the paper to be packaged on said skid on said wrapper sheet, bringing up opposite edges of said sheet around the sides of said fractional quantity and in overlapping relation on the top face thereof, folding in and securing said sheet successively laying other wrapper sheets on the top of the previously wrapped-fractional quantity of paper and wrapping other fractional quantitles of paper to be packaged in said wrapper sheets in the same manner and with said successive quantities in superposed stacked relation until the entire amount of paper has been wrapped, and then binding said wrapped quantities, together and to said skid.

6. The method of packa ing paper on a skid, which comprises placing a wrapping sheet on said skid, superposing -a fractional quantity of the paper to be packaged on said skid on said wrapper sheet, bringing up opposite edges of said sheet around the sides of said fractional quantity "and in overlapping relation to the top face thereof FRANCIS S. MCDONNELL. 

